Tailors buzzing ahead of Eid

Tailors busy with work ahead of Eid at the capital's Banani Super market on Friday.Prothom Alo

Mohammad Bacchu Mia (42) who is a tailor by profession has been working till 3 am every night since the beginning of Ramadan. He goes to sleep straight after having sehri and resumes work again at 9 am.

He earns Tk 250 as wages for making a woman's three-piece outfit. He aims at making at least four sets of shalwar kameez a day.

Bacchu Mia makes clothes for the Star Tailors shop at Banani Super Market in the capital. The work of Star Tailors shop gets done on two sewing machines set in a single room, located on the third floor of a five-storied building near the super market.

Several tailors including Bacchu Mia, Mohammad Sarwar, Md Rasel and Jahangir Alam talked of their work during a visit to the workshop on last Friday.

The tailors said people who like to wear clothes tailored to their measurements, starts placing orders quite a while before the Ramadan begins.

They added that orders have been coming in since Shab-e-Barat. However they used to work from 8 am to 9 pm prior to Ramadan while now they are working till midnight.

At the place where Bacchu Mia works, eight people work on eight sewing machines for four tailors shop of Banani Super Market- Roop Singer, Star, Chand and Sateesh tailors. All of this happens inside just a pair of room. Other tailors work on 14 sewing machines inside six other rooms, right beside those two rooms.

Tailor shops are willing for an amped up Eid this year casting aside the dullness of last two years caused by corona pandemic.

Mohammad Sarwar, tailor of Sateesh tailors said, “They charge Tk 1,000 for a three-piece set but, we get only Tk 250. We used to make two three-piece sets before the Ramadan. And now we are making four. It’s not possible to make more than that.”

When asked, don’t you get tired from working at a stretch, he said, “I do get tired. But, I have to make some extra money ahead of the Eid. Besides, orders are pouring in and we won’t be able to finish the works before Eid, if we don’t devote more time.”

Bacchu Mia said, in between sewing clothes for others he will also make three-piece sets for both of his teenage daughters towards the end of Ramadan. He will take those outfits to his village home in Madaripur to celebrate Eid, he added.

Going to the first and second floors of Banani Super Market, entering through gate no 8, rows lined with tailor shops were found there. Hafizul Islam, tailor master of Rajdhani Tailors on the third floor of the market told Prothom Alo, they are getting orders worth Tk 20,000 every day now.

They will stop taking orders after 15th Ramadan. Customers provide their measurements coming to the shop. Later, they cut the fabric based on those measurements and send those to their workshops to be stitched, Hafizul added.

Habibur Rahman, an employee of another shop named Maria Tailors there said they collect orders by going to customers’ homes as well. Later, when the orders are ready they deliver them to customers’ houses. He added that he has brought an order of Tk 7,000 from a customer in Gulshan just the previous day.

Tipu Hossain has his own tailors shop ‘Square’ on the first floor of Priyangan Shopping Centre located at Science Laboratory area in the capital. He himself is a tailor master. He informed Prothom Alo that he used to get about ten orders for three-piece sets at normal times. He has been receiving 14-15 orders a day since after the Shab-e-Barat. He charges at least Tk 800 per dress. If anyone asks to add more designs he charges up to Tk 1,000 for that.

Visiting three shops at Havelly Complex in Bashundhara residential area it was found that tailors have already gotten busy with work. Md Jewel, master of Labanya Boutique and Tailors there said order started coming in from fifth Ramadan. They received 20 orders only on Thursday. He does not wish to take any more orders after 15th Ramadan.

Not only women, men are also placing orders for with Eid ahead. Going to Advance Tailors at NI Tower of Banani Bazar, many people were seen placing orders at that large clothing store after buying shirt and pant pieces from the same store.

One of these people was Banani-resident Sheikh Manjur Morshed. He had his wife Monwoara Mohsin with him. He placed orders for making two full-sleeve shirts and a half-sleeve shirt there. He was making them for the upcoming Eid.

Manager of the shop Md Ali said they charge Tk 500 for shirts and Tk 600 for pants. He hoped that number of orders will increase even more in few more days.